25 Jun False Positive Review

FALSE POSITIVE

dir. John Lee, starring Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux, and Pierce Brosnan

A woman walks down the street in slow motion in a trance, her face and the front of her shirt completely covered in blood. That’s how False Positive starts, and as we rewind to see how we got to this point, it becomes clear that some of the film was created specifically to give us this beautiful shot. The film gives us Lucy and Adrian Martin, a couple struggling to conceive a child. As a result of those struggles, they visit fertility doctor John Hindle, who helps to impregnate Lucy under less than ideal circumstances.

What False Positive attempted to discuss and what it actually achieves are two vastly different things. From the horror aspect, the film ramps up the creep factor as the movie progresses, finding clever ways to deliver blood and gore without having to always deliver exactly that. While the acting and directing of the film is strong, the story itself is a poorly conceived attempt at addressing relevant social issues. All the hallmarks are there (gaslighting, expecting women in the workplace, even the Magical Negro trope), but they seem to be poorly designed passes at actually discussing the topics at hand. Of all the attempts at addressing these concerns, the one they successfully portray, to maddening level of realism, are the number of micro-aggressions leveled at Lucy. Much like the aggressions seen in Antebellum directed at Janelle Monae’s character as an African American woman, here in False Positive we see them time and time again, from her husband’s “I’m sorry I made you feel bad” to Dr. Hindle’s constant patting of Lucy’s leg, or thigh, or cheek to assuage her incredibly valid worries.

Written by, and starring Ilana Glazer, False Positive is a wonderfully acted film that carries a good part of the weight of the story. Glazer is in full command as Lucy, a woman desperate to conceive a daughter. Her eventual suspicion of the situation, which eventually transitions to full on paranoia, is portrayed in a haunting and convincing manner by Glazer. Normally a staple of the comedy scene, she trades in her laughs for a serious role, firmly knocking it out of the park as a woman on her own in a desperate situation with few resources to turn to. Justin Theroux as her husband Adrian plays his role well, oscillating between duly concerned husband and suspect companion. Pierce Brosnan as fertility doctor John Hindle, while having far less than time than Glazer or Theroux, still manages to command the screen with a presence that forces the audience’s eye on him when he’s in the room. Another character of suspicion, Brosnan toes the line wonderfully between helpful friend and something far more sinister. The addition of Zainab Jah as Grace Single is a brilliant stroke of subverting expectation that is a delight to see in an industry that is still filled with tropes and biases.

A frequent director of Glazer’s HBO show Broad City, False Positive is director John Lee’s second feature film, after the 2016 Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday. As with the acting, the directing is a strong offering from Lee, creating both moments of tense drama and moments of uncertainty. At 92 minutes, the film moves quickly between acts, establishing character’s goals and obstacles in an expedient yet believable way. Cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski manages to create a number of visually pleasing elements, the first shot in the movie being one of them. With a sparse number of sets (we see 3 rooms in the Martin’s house, Lucy’s office, Adrian’s office, and a lot of the same room in the fertility clinic), the production design is simple but effective. Between Lee’s directing and Pogorzelski’s cinematography, if nothing else, False Positive is a technically sound movie.

Overall, False Positive makes an attempt to be a cerebrally creepy film that appeals to half of its audience. The male half can be as sympathetic or empathic as they can muster, but the fact of the matter is, we don’t have the ability to fully grasp the fears, insecurities, or hardships that face women when it comes to pregnancy and birthing. That said, John Lee still does a decent job with directing the film and manipulating viewer’s expectation. The acting from the trio of Glazer, Theroux, and Brosnan is worthwhile and the pacing makes for a quick watch. Still, as far as A24 films are concerned, this one ranks somewhere near the bottom of the pack for me. What could’ve been a deeply unsettling film that focused on a woman’s right to choose and the inability to regulate her own body is robbed by a thin plot, unanswered motivations, and a lack of any sort of closure. False Positive is streaming on Hulu starting June 25th.

Review by Darryl Mansel